Max Verstappen shares his opinion on race director's ultra conservative approach in starting the F1 Belgian GP

Max Verstappen shared his take on the FIA race director's approach during the rain-soaked race at the Belgian GP. Speaking about it, the Red Bull driver stated that the ultra-conservative approach to it 'ruined' a 'nice classic' wet race.

The start of the 2025 Belgian GP at the Spa-Francorchamps was delayed due to rain. The delay remained for over an hour, and the race director, Rui Marques, a Portuguese Motorsport official, currently serving as the F1 race director, allowed the race to start under a safety car.

The race under the safety car went on for several laps before rain stopped, and the track was clear for racing. While the race director showed a conservative approach and wanted to avoid crashes, Verstappen felt it ruined the "classic wet race" situation.

Speaking in the post-race interview, here's what the Red Bull driver, who finished his race in P4, said:

"It just ruins a nice classic wet race as well. We either still try to push for a proper wet race or we stop racing in the wet and wait for it to be dry... I think we can have cool wet racing like in Silverstone or so."

Max Verstappen is currently in P3 in the Drivers' Championship with 185 points after 13 races and three Sprints. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, is in P17 with 10 points. Red Bull is in P4 in the Constructors' Championship with 192 points.

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Lewis Hamilton echoed Max Verstappen's thoughts on Belgian GP race direction

Max Verstappen of Red Bull competes during the 13th round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Stavelot, Liege province, Belgium, on July 27, 2025 - Source: Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton was far from impressed with the race direction at the recently concluded Belgian GP. Speaking in the post-race interview, the Ferrari driver, who finished his race in P7 after starting from the Pit Lane, said:

"I kept shouting ‘it’s ready to go’ and they kept going around and around,” he told media, including PlanetF1.com. “So I think they were probably overreacting from the last race where we asked them not to stop and restart the race too early because the visibility was bad. We didn’t need a rolling start." “As soon as someone up ahead said visibility was really bad, which it wasn’t great but it wasn’t as bad as the last race, and I think they just waited, just to be sure," he added.

Oscar Piastri claimed the victory at the Belgian GP over his teammate, Lando Norris. With this, the Australian driver has picked up six wins and extended his championship gap to 16 points. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari came home in P3, ahead of Max Verstappen.

Edited by Luke Koshi